Chapter 8 of The Closed Book is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Closed Book is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"You say you know her," I observed. "Where did you meet her?" "In Italy--under strange circumstances." "With her father?" "Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.
Chapter 8 of The Closed Book is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading “"In Italy--under strange circumstances."”
the appearance conveyed by a person's face
From this reading “"Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.”
indecision in speech or action
From this reading “"Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.”
a republic in southern Europe on the Italian Peninsula; was the core of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire between the 4th century BC and the 5th century AD
From this reading “"In Italy--under strange circumstances."”
possessive form of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading “"Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.”
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading “"Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.”
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading “"You say you know her," I observed.”
distribute or disperse widely
From this reading “"Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “"Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.”
In this reading “"Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading "Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading "Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.
later than; following
From this reading "Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.
your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
From this reading "In Italy--under strange circumstances."
the appearance conveyed by a person's face
From this reading "Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Where did you meet her?"
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading "With her father?"
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "You say you know her," I observed.
indecision in speech or action
From this reading "Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "You say you know her," I observed.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "In Italy--under strange circumstances."
a republic in southern Europe on the Italian Peninsula; was the core of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire between the 4th century BC and the 5th century AD
From this reading "In Italy--under strange circumstances."
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "You say you know her," I observed.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.
come together
From this reading "Where did you meet her?"
possessive form of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading "Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading "Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading "You say you know her," I observed.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.
express in words
From this reading "You say you know her," I observed.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.
distribute or disperse widely
From this reading "Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading "In Italy--under strange circumstances."
in or at that place or location
From this reading "Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading "In Italy--under strange circumstances."
in or at the place that
From this reading "Where did you meet her?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading "With her father?"
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes," she answered after a moment's hesitation, and across her countenance there spread a strange look of mystery.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You say you know her," I observed.
Chapter 8 of The Closed Book by William Le Queux holds 433 sentences, grouped into 87 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 8 holds 433 sentences of The Closed Book, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Closed Book by William Le Queux exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 433 sentences, grouped into 87 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 8 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Closed Book by William Le Queux on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4294 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40828 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40828, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 357 minutes of reading across 859 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Closed Book section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Closed Book to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Closed Book, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
